Gun reform marches planned across US
>> WASHINGTON: Thousands were set to gather in Washington yesterday for a protest that organisers claim will be a defining moment in the long-simmering national debate over gun-control legislation.
Organisers of the March for Our Lives rally are hoping to draw 500,000 protesters; that would match last year’s women’s march and make this one of the largest Washington protests since the Vietnam era. It would also bolster claims that the nation is ready to enact sweeping changes to its gun control laws. More than 800 marches are planned in cities across America and dozens of locations overseas.
Washington is generally nonchalant about protests, but yesterday’s gathering has prompted more attention and speculation than usual. Washington officials say they are prepared to handle the crowds — more prepared than they were for the women’s march, which far exceeded the organisers’ official predictions of 300,000.
The protesters, many of them high school students, claim that the youth leadership of this initiative is what will set it apart from previous attempts to enact stronger gun-control legislation.
In the wake of the Feb 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the students have tapped into a powerful current of pro-gun control sentiment.
Polls indicate that public opinion nationwide may indeed be shifting on an issue that has simmered for generations. A new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, found that 69% of Americans think gun laws in the United States should be tightened. That’s up from 61% who said the same in October of 2016 and 55% when the AP first asked the question in October of 2013. Overall, 90% of Democrats, 50% of Republicans and 54% of gun owners now favour stricter gun control laws.